Loučná nad Desnou (until 1948 Vízmberk; german: Wiesenberg) is a municipality and village in

Šumperk District Šumperk District ( cs, okres Šumperk) is a district (''okres'') within the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic Its administrative centre is the town of Šumperk. Šumperk District shares border with the districts of Olomouc (to the south), Svi ...

in the

Olomouc Region Olomouc Region ( cs, Olomoucký kraj; , ; pl, Kraj ołomuniecki) is an administrative unit ( cs, kraj) of the Czech Republic, located in the north-western and central part of its historical region of Moravia (''Morava'') and in a small part of t ...

of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. It has about 1,500 inhabitants.

Administrative parts

Villages of Filipová, Kociánov, Kouty nad Desnou, Přemyslov and Rejhotice are administrative parts of Loučná nad Desnou.

Geography

Loučná nad Desnou is located about northeast of

Šumperk Šumperk (; german: Mährisch Schönberg) is a town in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 26,000 inhabitants. It is the centre of the north of Moravia and, due to its location, is known as "The Gate to the Jeseníky mountains ...

and north of

Olomouc Olomouc (, , ; german: Olmütz; pl, Ołomuniec ; la, Olomucium or ''Iuliomontium'') is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 99,000 inhabitants, and its larger urban zone has a population of about 384,000 inhabitants (2019). Located on t ...

. It lies in the

Hrubý Jeseník Hrubý Jeseník (, , ) is a mountain range of Eastern Sudetes in northern Moravia and Czech Silesia. It is the second highest mountain range in the Czech Republic. Its best known natural sights include: *Praděd, its highest mountain *A powerf ...

mountain range in river valley of the Desná, which originates in the municipal territory. The highest point of Loučná nad Desnou is the highest mountain of the entire

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The m ...

, which is

Praděd Praděd (; german: Altvater; pl, Pradziad; literally " great grandfather") () is the highest mountain of the Hrubý Jeseník mountains, Moravia, Czech Silesia and Upper Silesia and is the fifth-highest mountain of the Czech Republic. The highes ...

at above sea level. The Dlouhé stráně Reservoir is located in the eastern part of the municipality.

History

The oldest part of the municipality is the village of Rejhotice. The first written mention of Rejhotice is from 1494, but it was probably founded in the 14th century by lumbermen and

charcoal burner A charcoal burner is someone whose occupation is to manufacture charcoal. Traditionally this is achieved by carbonising wood in a charcoal pile or kiln. Charcoal burning is one of the oldest human crafts. The knowledge gained from this industr ...

s. The area belonged to the

estate, owned by the

Zierotin The House of Žerotín or House of Zierotin was a Czech noble family in the Lands of the Bohemian Crown, one of the oldest and most illustrious noble families from Bohemia and Moravia. The family was first mentioned around the year 1200 as ''B ...

family. After 1608, the Wiesenberg (later Vízmberk) estate was established by Jan the Younger of Zierotin, and the construction of the castle began. In 1651, Přemysl II of Zierotin invited new settlers and founded the village of Přemyslov. In the second half of the 17th century, the area was hit by the infamous

Northern Moravia witch trials Northern Moravia witch trials, also known as '' Boblig witch trials'' was a series of witch trials which occurred in the Jeseník and Šumperk area in the present-day Czech Republic, between 1622 and 1696. They are among the largest and most well k ...

and one woman from Rejhotice was killed. The village of Kociánov was established in 1784. The hamlet of Vízmberk, formed by houses around the Vízmberk Castle, established a separate village in 1799. In 1948, the municipality of Vízmberk was renamed Loučná. Since 1953, it has been known as Loučná pod Desnou.

Demographics

Sights

The main landmark is the Loučná nad Desnou Castle (formerly Vízmburk Castle). The castle was built by the Zierotins on the site of an old wooden hunting lodge. The castle park also dates from the 17th century. In 1839–1945, the park was redesigned to an English-style park. Today the castle is unused and inaccessible, but the park is freely accessible.

Notable people

Alfred Brendel Alfred Brendel KBE (born 5 January 1931) is an Austrian classical pianist, poet, author, composer, and lecturer who is known particularly for his performances of Mozart, Schubert, Schoenberg, and Beethoven.Stephen Plaistow"Brendel, Alfred" ' ...

(born 1931), Austrian pianist

Twin towns – sister cities

Loučná nad Desnou is twinned with: *

Sośnicowice Sośnicowice (German: Kieferstädtel) is a town in Gliwice County, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland, with 1,919 inhabitants (2019). It is the capital of Gmina Sośnicowice, which has been officially bilingual in Polish and German since 2013. Geogr ...

, Poland

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Loucna Nad Desnou Villages in Šumperk District